Exercising-machine.



No. 861,620. PATBNTED JULY 30, 1907.

J. E. THOMPSON.

EXERCISING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED APR. 26. 1906.

JOHN E. THOMPSON, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

EXE RGISING-MACHIN E Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 30, 1907.

Application filed April 26, 1906. Serial No. 313,881-

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN E. THOMPSON, a citizen of the United States,residing at Worcester, in the county of Worcester and State ofMassachusetts, have invented a new and useful Exercising-Machine, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention relates to that type of exercising machines in whichelastic cords or the like, passing over pulleys or through a movableframe and connected with handles, are employed. 7

The principal objects of the invention are to provide means whereby agreater variety in tension may be secured, means whereby tension incertain directions may be reduced without affecting that in otherdirections, means for connecting the several elastic cords in such amanner as to provide a more flexible support and give better results forexercising purposes, and means for mounting the handles in such a way asto avoid unnecessary friction, and to generally improve exercisingmachines of this type.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings in which,

Figure 1 is a side view showing a wall machine set up in operativeposition and embodying the principles of my invention, parts being shownin section. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of a movable frame forsupporting the pulleys. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the same, and Fig.4 is an elevation of a handle grip which can be employed for certainpurposes.

For the purpose of affording a guide for the elastic cords or supportswhich are employed, a frame 14 is provided. Italso supports severalpairs of pulleys 10, 11, 12 and 13 and in the form illustrated thisframe comprises two parallel and ordinarily horizontal plates, eachplate being connected with the other through pivoted frames 15 and 16.These pivoted frames are each in the form of a rectangular band havingstuds or screws 17 projecting from their opposite ends, these screwsbeing connected with the plates of the frame 14 by nuts which can beadjusted and secured in position in such a manner as to regulate thedistance apart of the two plates of the frame 14 and at the same timepermit free swinging of the frames 15 and 16 on them as pivots.

The frame 15 carries the pair of pulleys 10 and 11 while the frame 16carries in a similar manner, the two pulleys l2 and 13.

Mounted at the top and bottom of the frames 14 are eyes 18 and 19 andextending to the rear of the frame and secured to each of the platesthereof is a wire 20 bearing an eye 21 preferably located behind thecenter of the main frame. This eye is preferably formed integral withthe wire. 7

The manner in which this frame is supported and connected with the otherparts of the apparatus and its motion yieldingly restrained will now bedescribed.

A pair of elastic cords 22 both secured to a hook 23 are each providedwith a hook 24 on one end. The hook 23 is designed to pass into the eye18 and the hooks 24 to be connected with an eye 25, or the like, securedto the wall of the building or to any stationary object. A similar pairof elastic cords 26 provided with a hook 27 and two hooks 28 isconnected with the eye 19 below the frame and with an eye 29, or thelike, to the wall. In the same manner a pair of elastic cords 30provided with a hook 31 and a pair of hooks 32 is connected with the eye21 and with an eye 33 in the wall. These cords diverge from the frame atan angle to each other, so that the frame can be held out from the wallin any direction and the strain will come upon one or more of the doubleor single elastic cords which have been described; a downward pull ofthe frame coming chiefly on the cords 22, an upward pull on the cords 26and an outward one on the cords 30, although it will be understood thatas a usual thing, one or more other cords will assist in resisting themotions of the frame.

The main elastic cords, with which the machine is provided arepreferably four in number; 34, 35, 36 and 37. Each of these cords isprovided with a hook at its end, those on the first two mentioned beingadapted to be supported by an eye 38 located above the eye 25 and thoseon the latter two being intended to engage an eye 39 below the eye 29.

The cord 34 passes under one of the pulleys l2 and its hook engages aneye 40 in a bail 41 for supporting a handle-grip 42 and the cord 35passes under one of the pulleys 10, and its hook engages an eye in asecond bail 43 for supporting the other handle 44. The cord 36 passesover one of the pulleys l1 and its hook is adapted to engage the eye ofthe bail 43, while the cord 37 passes over one of the pulleys 13 and itshook is adapted to engage with the bail 41.

It will be seen that with this construction, when all of the hooks areconnected to the eyes which have been specified, the user of the machinecan pull on either of the handles 42 or 44 and he will stretch two ofthe cords which pass through the pulleys on one side of the frame, oneof these cords passing upwardly and the other downwardly. Also, thestrain will be transmitted to the cords 22, 26 and 30 in accordance withthe direction of the pull. It will be seen, moreover, that in case it isdesired to avoid the resistance of an elastic cord in either direction,up or down, on

*one hand or both, one of the elastic cords can be detached from thedesired handle bail and then the principal resistance which this bailwill encounter will be in one direction. For instance, the cord 36 maybe detached from the bail 43 and the cord 37 from the bail 41, as isindicated in the drawing, and in this case, there will be no resistanceto an upward pull on the cords 36 and 37, the only resistance being fromthe cords 26 and a slight amount from the cords 30; obviously, this willreduce the resistance in this direction materially while not affectingin the slightest degree the resistance to a downward pull. Moreover,either one of any of the pairs of cords 22, 26 and 30 may be disengagedfrom its eye so as to decrease the resistance to the movement of theframe on the part of these cords. It will be clear, also, that anydesired kind of combination may be secured by casting off one or more ofthe several cords from their respective eyes. One or both of the uppercords can be cast off from the eye 38 or the lower ones from the eye 39with the result of securing additional variations. Moreover, the threepairs 22, 26 and 30, may becast off in various ways. One cord of eachpair can be cast off thus reducingthe whole resistance of the machineuniformly or to get certain kinds of exercising actions, both of thecords26 may be cast off or both of the cords 30 or either of those withone of the other cords. Both the connections 34 and 37 may be attachedto the same hook 38 or 39, or the connections and 36 may be connected inthis way.

It will be seen that the extent of possible variations of resistance inall directions is almost unlimited and that an intelligent user orinstructor can secure any desired results within a wide and practicalrange. Moreover, four handles can be attached to the main cords so thatthe machine can be used by two persons at once.

I have shown two forms of handles. In Fig. 1, a light weight head 45 issecured to a bolt 46, passing through eyes in the bail 43 and through alongitudinal perforation in the grip 44. This bolt has a screwthreadwith which an internally screw-threaded head I or nut 47 is connected.The ends of the grip are provided with ferrules IS which may, ifdesired, loosely rotate on the grip. The purpose of this construction isto provide for reducing friction and permitting the grip to rotate withthe movement of the hand without affecting the position of the bail.This loose arrangement secures better results than where the grip isfast to the bail or where there is considerable friction between them.It is to be noted that the grip and heads are both preferably formed oflight material, such as wood, in order to avoid'any undue weight at thispoint.

In Fig. 4 I have shown a construction in which the grip is formed of twoparts i9 and 50, these two parts being held away from each other bysprings 51, the part 49 being secured to the bail in a manner such-asthat illustrated in Fig. 1 and the part 50 sliding toward and from it inguides 52. This construction is provided in order to secure theadvantages of the spring grip in connection with the advantages of myimproved wall machine or any other exercising apparatus of this type,but I do-not herein claim this specific construction of the handle asthe same is covered by my Patent No. 835,487, granted Nov. 13, 1906.This combination affords means whereby an additional variety ofmovements and exercising actions can be secured on one and the samemachine.

While I have illustrated and described certain forms in which myinvention may be conveniently embodied, I am aware that manymodifications may be made therein by any person skilled in the artwithout departing from the scope of my invention as expressed in theclaims. Therefore, I do not wish to be limited to the exact forms shownbut What I do claim and desire to secure by Letters- Patent is:

1. In an exercising machine, the combination of a frame, two flexiblemembers movably connected with'the frame and extending from one side ofthe frame in diverging directions. and a pair of handles or grips on theother side of the frame, one connected with each of said members 2. Inan exercising machine, the combination of a frame, two flexible membersmovably connected with the frame and extending from one side of theframe in diverging directions, a pair of handles or grips on the otherside of p the frame, one connected with each of said members, and aplurality of flexible connections yieldingly holding the frame inposition.

3. In an exercising machine, the combination of a plurality of elasticcords having their ends connected to a stationary object at a distanceapart, a frame, pulleys mounted on said frame, one pulley for receivingeach cord, said frame being located at a point between those at whichthe ends of the cords are connected, and resilient means for restrainingthe motion of said frame.

4. In an exercising machine, the combination of two pairs of elasticcords having their ends connected to a stationary object, the ends ofone pair of cords being se cured in a position spaced from the ends ofthe other pair of cords, a pair of handle-grips, one cord of each pairextending to each of said handle-grips, a frame for receiving saidcords, and resilient means for restraining the motion of said frame inall directions away from the stationary object to which the cords areconnected.

5. In an exercising machine, the combination of two pairs of elasticcords having their ends connected to a stationary object, the ends ofone pair of cords being connecied in a position spaced from the ends ofthe other pair of cords, a pair of handle grips, one cord of each pairextending to each of said handle grips, and a frame for receiving saidcords.

6. In an exercising machine, the combination of a pair of elastic cords,means for connecting their ends at adjacent points to a stationaryobject, a frame, a pair of pulleys on said frame, a pair of handlegrips, one connected to each of said cords, and resilient means forrestraining the motion of said frame.

7. In an exercising machine, the combination of a frame, a second framepivotally mounted on the first frame, pulleys journalcd in the secondframe, and means for resiliently connecting the first frame with astationary object.

8. In an exercising machine, the combination of a frame, a pair of"frames pivotally mounted on the first named frame, pulleys journaled ineach of the pivoted frames, and means for yieldingly connecting thefirst named frame with a stationary object.

I). In an exercising machine, the combination of a frame comprising twoplates spaced apart, a pair of rectangular frames mounted between saidplates, each frame having a stud extending from each end thereof andpassing through one of said plates, means for securing the studs to theplates to permit the rectangular frames to swing about the studs aspivots, and pulleys mounted on said rectangular frames.

10. In an exercising machine, the combination of a frame comprising twoplates spaced apart, a pair of rectangular frames mounted between saidplates, each frame having a stud extending from each end thereof andpassing through one of said plates, means for securing the studs to theplates to permit the rectangular frames to swing about the studs aspivots, and pulleys mounted on said rectangular frames, each of saidplates being provided with an eye, and an additional eye located behindthe main frame and connected with both of said plates, said eyes beingadapted for connecting the frame with means for supporting it.

11. In an exercising machine, the combination of a frame, means forpivotally supporting a plurality of rotatable pulleys on said frame, apair of eyes, one located at the top and the other at the bottom of saidframe, a third eye located in the center of and at the rear of saidframe, and three elastic connections, one engaging each of said eyes,said connections extending from the frames at an angle to each other andbeing secured to a stationary object.

12. In an exercising machine, the combination of a frame, means forrotatably supporting a plurality of pnlleys on said frame, three elasticconnections, one connected with the top of the frame, one with thebottom, and the third with a point in the center and at the rear of saidframe, said connections having their other ends secured in stationaryposition.

13. In an exercising machine, the combination of a frame, pulleyspivotally supported thereon, a pair of eyes, one at the top and theother at the bottom of said frame, a third eye behind the center of saidframe and connected with the frame, a pair of elastic cords connectedwith each of said eyes, said cords diverging from said frame at an angleto each other and having means for removably conmeeting them with astationary eye or the like.

1-1. In an exercising machine, the combination of a frame having meansfor supporting pulleys, and a plurality of supports for said frame, eachof said supports comprising a pair of elastic cords, each cord having ahook adapted to be removably connected with a stationary eye.

15. In an exercising machine, the combination of a yieldingly mountedframe, pulleys mounted thereon, elastic cords in engagement with saidpulleys and hand grips connected with said cords, each of said handgrips com prising a bail having an eye, a bolt passing through said eye,and a rotatable grip mounted on said bolt.

16. In an exercising machine, the combination of a frame, two pairs offlexible members movably connected with said frame, and a pair ofhandles or grips, one of each pair of flexible members being connectedwith each handle orgrip.

17. In an exercising machine, the combination of a frame, two pairs offlexible members movably connected with said frame and extendingtherefrom on one side in diverging directions, and a pair of handles orgrips, one of each pair of flexible members being connected with eachhandle or grip.

18. In an exercising machine, the combination of a frame, two pairs offlexible members movably connected with said frame, a pair of handles orgrips, one of each pair of flexible members being connected with eachhandle or grip, and flexible members connected with said frame foryieldingiy supporting it.

19. In an exercising machine, the combination of a frame, two flexiblemembers movable freely through said frame and extending from one side ofthe frame in diverging directions, and ahandle or grip on the other sideof the frame connected with said members.

20. In an exercising machine, the combination of a frame, two flexiblemembers movable freely through said frame and extending from one side ofthe frame in diverging directions, a handle on the other side of theframe connected with said members, and flexible members connected withsaid frame and yieldingly supporting it.

21. An exercising machine, comprising a frame and resilient supportingconnections therefor extending therefrom in different directions, eachof said connections comprising a plurality of elastic cords allconnected with said frame and individually connected with a stationaryobject, whereby any one or more of the cords of each connection can becast off so as to reduce the tension in any direction, and can beconnected with the stationary object at different points.

22. In an exercising machine, the combination of a plurality ofstationary eyes, a frame, and a plurality of elastic cords orconnections each passing freely from one side of the frame to another,and each adapted to be connected with any one of said eyes at one end,and having a handle or grip at the other end at the other side of theframe.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand, in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

" JOHN E. THOMPSON.

Witnesses ALBERT E. FAY, \VILLIAM A. \VARDEX.

